Golf balls are made in a variety of constructions and compositions. Generally, a core is surrounded by a cover, with at least one intermediate layer optionally disposed there between. Examples of golf ball materials range from balata to polybutadiene, ionomer resins, polyurethanes, and/or polyureas. Typically, outer layers are formed about the spherical outer surface of an inner golf ball layer via compression molding, casting, or injection molding. Coating layers are also sometimes applied about one or more golf ball layers.
Golf balls may be constructed with an eye toward maximizing adhesion between adjacent layers. Excellent adhesion between golf ball layers creates impact durability and shear resistance, without which both golf ball appearance and playability commonly suffer.
However, separating these layers from each other later, during the recycling process, can therefore be complex and difficult. Centerless grinding, while capable of removing covers and/or core layers, is costly. And chemical processes for removing paint and cover layers are dangerous, and therefore not the most practical approaches to recycling golf balls. Meanwhile, simply grinding the entire golf ball into a regrind stream of small mixed materials is less desirable, since it precludes isolating each material for subsequent addition into the virgin waste stream in certain percentages.
Thus, there remains a need for golf balls formed from adjacent layers that display excellent adhesive strength during play on the course yet are separable easily and cost-effectively later during the recycling process. The inventive golf ball, method of making golf balls, and golf ball recycling method address and solve this need.